Southbridge has two ballots on one election day – June 25

One election is to replace former U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, who resigned in January to become secretary of state.

The other is Southbridge's annual town election, which features a race for three town council seats and two school board seats and several proposed changes to the town's home-rule charter.

Town Manager Christopher Clark said the town was preparing the necessary materials, and he has requested that Town Clerk Madaline I. Daoust put together a plan to have adequate staffing in place for the election.

With the exception of police details, the double election will mean double of everything, Ms. Daoust said Wednesday.

An election normally costs $8,000 to $9,000, she said. It will cost about $15,000 for the simultaneous elections, she estimated.

Ms. Daoust said she usually hires in the range of 35 workers, but for June 25 she will need at least 23 additional election workers.

Brian McNiff, secretary of state spokesman, said the town is required to add two persons per precinct at check-in, and to add two per precinct at checkout. Anything above that is the town's decision.

There are five voting precincts.

In addition to two sets of check-in and checkout lists, Ms. Daoust, who consulted with the law firm Kopelman & Paige, said she will have to double up on legal-size binders and bins.

The ballot for the town race will have to be “married to the state's, where all the markings are the same so the machine can read both ballots,” Ms. Daoust said.

The clerk said “the unknown” was cause for concern.

“It's my job so you just deal with it one thing at a time,” she said, adding she hoped there would not be a call for any other special elections this year.

What was thought to be a year with just one election turned into three elections — there is also the April 30 primary for Mr. Kerry's Senate seat.

“It's almost like having twins,” she said of the dual elections. “It is what it is. There's always something. It's not that bad. We'll manage.”

There will be 10 proposed charter changes on the local ballot. One asks to make it more difficult to fire a town manager, requiring a two-thirds vote of the nine-member council instead of a simple majority.

Another change would call for a five-member health board appointed by the manager.

A third question concerns limiting an elected or appointed member of a quasi-judicial board to one such board.